You're Only In Trouble If You're Caught
by Cutterpillow
Summary: The lesson here? Never trust an old prisoner who found an exit and not use it to get his own freedom. Chances are, the old prisoner's ideas of reward is to kill you by letting you be eaten by a treasure-filled cave that has a lion's head for a mouth.
1. I Dream Of Slenderman

**A/n:** Hey there! I've read some Aladdin fanfics, and well, this is a result of me being inspired from them! I'm jumping on the bandwagon! I recommend the **Don't Rub the Lamp** series. I love Lisa. She's awesome. Also, check out**Aladdin and Leila**.

Still, I'm not sure if I'll make this a Genie/Oc fic. We'll just have to find out.

And yeah, sorry about the title. It's kinda unoriginal and lazy. But please, bear with me for a while. I'll change it when my muse found a good, fitting title.

Anyway, here's the first chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I only own Amira/Amar.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong> I Dream of Slenderman.

My nightmare started like this.

I was standing on the dessert at night. It was starry and the moon was full. And despite me being not physically there, I can feel the cold wind and the sand beneath my feet. Okay. Normal enough. When you live in Agrabah, you tend to see the dessert a lot. And sometimes, even dream about it.

How can you not? It was vast. And it seemed never-ending. And… and… Did I say it was vast?

But I was not alone. There was a man. He was tall and slender, and I can see him even if he was riding a horse. Then, somebody else came on another horse. He looked… familiar.

"You… are late." The tall man said testily.

The smaller man mounted off his horse and bowed down to slenderman. "A thousand apologies, oh _patient one_." He said the last bit quite… sarcastically.

Slenderman, however, either ignored it or didn't notice it at all.

"You have it then?" he, slenderman, said instead.

"I had to slit a few throats but I got it." He pulled a golden half of a scarab out of his clothes. Slenderman reached out to grab it, but the little greedy one yanked it back, and said, "Ah-ah-ah, the treasure?"

Slenderman glared at Greedy, and then his parrot (Hm. A shady looking man with a pet parrot. Talk about unusual!) Swooped down on Greedy and grabbed the scarab off his hands. Greedy yelped in pain.

"Trust me, my pungent friend. You'll get what's coming to you." Slenderman reassured Greedy. The way the former said it sent chills down my spine, like it will backfire, one way or another. And I reckon it gave the same effect on Greedy. The parrot repeated what its master has said. Slenderman then pulled out the second half of the medallion. He connects them, and the insect medallion begins to glow, sprouting wings and flying off into the dessert.

"Quickly, follow the trail!" Slender man said, rousing his horse. They both rode off into the dessert, following the golden trail emitted off by the golden insect. Of course I ran after them. I got curious. And the weird thing? I was able to catch up to them. Yes, me. I was able to run as a fast as a horse. The golden scarab stopped as it reached a rather large mound of sand. It separated in two and plunged themselves onto the dune. Then, the ground shook, and a mild sand storm brewed, and the mound began to rise, and grow in size! It formed a giant tiger's head with glowing eyes. The majestic tiger opened its mouth, revealing sharp looking teeth made of sand and a possible entrance to what looked like a long tunnel.

My mouth fell open.

"At last, after all my years of searching, the cave of wonders!" Slenderman said in happily… In a sinister way.

Cave of wonders? I know about its legend. Mother used to tell it to Al and I at night. But didn't she say it was a lion that was guarding the cave? I never thought it was the lion/tiger that's the cave itself. Mother… no. I can't think of her… at least not now… if I thought of her again… I'll get all weird and sad and soul-searchy and go sulk in the corner.

"By Allah!" Greedy said in awe. Slenderman grabbed him by the front of his clothes.

"Now, remember! Bring me the lamp. The rest of the treasure is yours, but the lamp is mine!" He said menacingly to Greedy. While Slenderman's parrot squawked, "The lamp! Awk! The lamp!" repeatedly.

I tried to rake my mind about some legend about a lamp. But… nothing. I can't remember anything. Still, I'm sure Mother had told us a story about a lamp.

Greedy started to walk towards the tiger…lion... whatever. To the cave entrance with a well, greedy smile and a greedy chuckle on his ugly, greedy little face. I stayed behind Slenderman and his parrot.

"Jeez, where'd ya dig this bozo up?" I jumped when I heard the parrot talk normally. His master merely shushed him and watched Greedy as he started to enter thecave. Greedy took a cautious little peek before sidestepping towards the cave. But, he must have tasted horrible, because the lion/tiger blew him away.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" the lion/tiger said… roared… or something. Hey! He's just like me when my sleep is disturbed!

Greedy cowered, shifted from a foot to another, and said, shakily, of course, "I- I- It is I, G-gazeem; a humble thief." GAZEEM! Now I remember him! He's a thief, just like my brother Al and I! But unlike us, who steals only for food, he steals and kills too! Humble? HA! He puts us thieves in a bad light. Well, in an even worse light, but still! Not all thieves steal and kill you know!

"Know this." The lion/tiger said. Roared. "Those who may enter here are only those whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough."

Gazeem turned to Slenderman for help. Well, at least Gazem knows he's not worthy. "What are you waiting for? Go on!" Slenderman urged him. Hesitation is obvious in Gazeem's face. He walked with caution towards the guardian's mouth once again. He seemed to have held his breath as he puts a foot down, waiting for something to happen. Well, nothing did. So he relaxed and began to trek again. Then the Guardian gave a deafening roar. Gazeem tried to run, but the Guardian ate him. The dune collapsed and a mild sandstorm emitted. I know this is still a dream, but it all felt real to me. I FELT the sand against me! You don't experience that when you're in a dream! So I too, have to cover my face up.

The golden scarab is once again in half as it tumbled down Slenderman's feet.

"Seek thee out, the diamond in the rough." The Guardian's dismembered voice spoke with finality, as if reminding Slenderman to pick out a worthy… cave goer next time. And the dessert was silent once more.

"I can't believe it. I just don't believe it. We're never gonna get a hold of that stupid lamp! Just forget it. Look at this. Look at this. I'm so ticked off that I'm molting!" The parrot nagged. He flew up to his master's shoulder.

"Patience, Iago. Patience. Gazeem was obviously less than worthy." Slenderman said coolly.

"Oh you think?" I blurted out loud. I quickly covered my mouth. Did they hear me?

"Oh, there's a big surprise." - Iago didn't. Thank heavens. "-That's an incredible! I think I'm gonna have a heart attack and die from not surprise! What're we gonna do? We got a big problem here,a big prob-" Slenderman shut him up by holding Iago's beak shut.

Can I just say Uh-Oh?

Slenderman tensed up a bit. I am now starting to feel I just witnessed something I should never have. Like, this isn't a dream at all. This was happening in real time. Slenderman scanned the area with is eyes. For a second, his eyes locked with mine, and I held my breath. Yes, Amira. That is very smart. Hold your breath so he can't see you. You don't even have anything to hide to. Very smart.

But wait… he turned his head into another direction, quickly dismissing the thought that someone else had been in the dessert with them.

Didn't he see me..? Thank Allah.

"Yes, we do. The only one who can enter the cave… we must find this… this… this," Slenderman said slowly. He locked his eyes at me again, as if he can see me, as if he knows I'm there… "The Diamond in the rough. "

My eyes widen and I backed away from him. He was closing in on me with a wicked grin.

"Hey Jafar, what are you doing?" I heard Iago called to his master.

His hand… Slenderman's… they were reaching out to me… I turned and ran. I ran faster than I ever did my whole life. I am a decent… even a good runner, if I can say so myself. Hey, if you're a thief in Agrabah, you have to run. Fast. A lot. You have to run from angry knife carrying merchants and sword carrying palace guards. Usually, I can outrun them. Most merchants are fat and some guards are big and bulky. And fat, big and bulky are quite easy to outrun.

But then, I heard a horse's gallop. I felt my heart drop. A horse. That, I can't outrun.

I screamed out my brother's name. Hell, I even tried pinching myself awake. I still know that this is a nightmare. It may be an oddly realistic nightmare, but still a nightmare nonetheless… right?

Oh, how wrong I was.

It was when I felt someone… namely Jafar grab my hair that I lost all the hope. But I kept on squirming. I won't go down without a fight. Never.

"There's no use fighting, girl," He said. "I finally have you, my little diamond; you're one who can enter the cave of wonders. You're the diamond in the rough."

He started touching my face.

Eww… I'd rather get his stupid lamp than become one of his harem girls… if he even has one!

I bit his bony hand and run. He yelped in paid and let go of me. I took the opportunity and made a break for it. If only my brother was here... He'll know what to do.

"There's no use running, little mouse!" Jafar taunted, as he laughed evilly.

It was the bad time to be a smart-mouth, I know but… truth be told, I am not a smart person. Don't tell Aladdin I said that. He'll never let me live it down. I _bravely_ looked behind me and yelled, "EAT MY PANTS!" and ran some more.

If you're as lucky as I am, that means you're not lucky at all. Thanks to my clumsiness, I tripped with my own two feet (TRAITORS!). I felt my hair being yanked up again, and I felt someone spitting on my face.

"Al, help me." I remembered muttering.

And then… everything turned black.

**/**

To be continued.


	2. Always Be A Step Ahead!

Wow. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to **Disneyfanfic writer**! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

And now, Chapter 2!

**Disclaimer:** This is based off on Disney's Aladdin.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2:<strong> Always Be One Step Ahead

I sat up the moment I felt something wet hitting my face.

It was just Abu, splashing my face with water. It was morning. I was at home. Safe. Not at the desert. Aladdin had a concerned look on his face.

"Bad dream?" He asked. I can only nod. "Want to tell me about it?"

"There- there was a man," I began. I knitted my eyebrows together, trying to remember what Slenderman looked like. Nothing. It was like I can remember him, all save for his face and his voice. It was unnerving! "I-I can't remember what he looked like! Al, this man in mty nightmare, he was tall and slender! And there, I remember is that there was this other man… he—the other man was eaten by the guardian of cave of wonders! Then Slenderman saw me and he started to say that… I have to go to the cave of wonders too! And he chased me through the desert! Then—then he caught me, Al! He caught me!" I didn't realize I was shaking and crying until my brother hugged me, rubbed my back, and started saying comforting things.

"I'm here, Mira." He said reassuringly. "Abu and I, we're here, and we'll protect you. We'll never let anyone harm you, okay?" if we were in another situation where I'm not scared, I would have smacked the living daylights out of him for saying that he'll protect me. But right now, right now I need my older brother. I need reassurance that he's here, and he'll protect me. Even abu was stroking my hair.

"Promise?" I asked Al. It was childish, I know. But I felt like a child at that time.

"I swear, Amira." Al smiled down at me.

And then, the sound of a rumbling stomach interrupts the perfect family moment.

"Hungry?" Al asked me with a grin. I nodded, sniffling, wiping my face dry. "Come on, I heard Muhammad's got these new, bigger loaves of bread."

**/**

It was a hot, late morning in Agrabah. And my brother and I were on the run. As usual.

We have the bread. It was so big; a single loaf could feed the three of us!

I followed Aladdin up a ladder. If it wasn't for that Merchant yelling and whining about two boys who stole his newly made special loaf bread (His exact words was "DAMN YOU STREET RATS! GUAAAAAAARDS!), then we wouldn't be chased by the palace guards right now. May I add that they've been onto us for the last… several months?

"Darn!" Aladdin cursed. He almost fell of the edge of the structure. We. Were. Trapped.

"Stop, you thieves!" The head Guard said. I think his name is Razoul. "I'll have your hands for trophies!"

Aladdin gave me a look that screamed, _'Distract them!'_ I gave a curt nod.

"Whoa. You have been eating a lot of red meat, haven't you?" I said. "You know, we knew this guy, his name was Rashid, and he ate an awful lot of red meat so he—"

"Quiet, boy!" He snarled at me, taking his scimitar out. I gulped, hands hovering on the belt of my pants, ready to grab the hidden dagger. If you may be wondering why Ugly here referred to me as 'Boy', well, see, I disguised myself as well, a boy. It's very hard for a girl to survive here, unless you work as a slave, or a courtesan.

The guards started to close in on us, but Aladdin grabbed my arm just in time. We jumped off the roof, and the both of us were yelling at the top of our lungs.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" I yelled. "YOU WANNA KILL US BOTH?"

"IT'S EITHER DEATH OR PRISON!" He yelled back. Death or prison. I think I know which I'd rather chose.

As luck would have it, it wasn't our time yet. We landed on a clothesline, and as we slid downwards, Aladdin and I sent various articles of clothing flying. One of the ropes snapped, but we landed on yet another level of clothesline where woman was currently hanging clothes. My eyes widen; Aladdin was going to crash with the woman. I din't know who was screaming the loudest; Aladdin, or the woman, or I. But the woman recovered in time to slam her windows shut.

I let go of the rope when I caught sight of the shutters. Hopefully they could soften the fall. Aladdin fell faster than me, which is because he was covered in various layers of mixed clothing and carpets and blankets and more. He landed with the thud.

I landed on him. And I caught the loaf too.

"There they are!" one of Razoul's buddies yelled from the building.

"You rats won't get away so easy!" Yelled another.

"You think that was easy?" Aladdin muttered, looking up at them.

I smart-mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, because it chooses the wrong time to act. "Really? You're not happy about us being alive?" I had to ask.

Three women saw us, and they laughed. We probably looked ridiculous. Well, cut us some slack. We've probably fallen several floors down. This will bruise in the morning.

Aladdin pulled a sheet over him as a disguise. I grabbed one too, and followed my brother.

"Morning, ladies." Aladdin greeted.

Mrs Rashida grinned at us. "Getting into trouble a little early today, aren't you, boys? Oh and Amar, you look pretty as a girl! Your hair is getting quite long too!"

I replied with batting my eyes and Mrs Rashida and the other ladies laughed harder.

"Trouble?" Aladdin said. "No way. You're only in trouble if you get caught—"

"Gotcha!" It was our old buddy, Razoul. He yanked the back of our clothes.

"We're in trouble." I squeaked.

"...And this time—! " He got cut off by a familiar screech as Abu pulled his turban on his face.

"Perfect timing, Abu, as usual!" Aladdin smiled at our friend.

"Hello!" Abu said… or screeched … or whatever—holding his tiny little fez up in greeting.

"Let's cut the reunion short, boys!" I reminded them as me started to run. But then, I slammed on a palace guard's stomach. Man, these guys don't miss too many lunches, don't they?

"_Gotta keep...one jump ahead of the breadline"-_ Aladdin sang as Fat face swung his scimitar at us. Aladdin and I manage to dodge it, causing a barrel full of fish to burst open.

"_One swing ahead of the sword!"_ I answered.

"_We steal only what we can afford!"_ Aladdin said as he undid the guard's sash before running.

"_That's everything!"_ I said, running after my brother, now wanting to see the Guard's bloomers—TOO LATE! OH! They're floral pink!

"_One jump ahead of the lawmen,"_ Aladdin sang.

"_That's all,"_ I sang as we tried to get behind a wooden pole_—"and that's no joke,"_ And failed as the Guard sliced the wood in half

We scampered up on a pile of barrels. I kicked one down and it landed on a Guard._"These guys don't appreciate we're broke!"_

"_Riffraff! "_ The wet guard yelled at us. We scurried up on a platform.

"_Street rats!"_ Bellowed one.

"_Scoundrels!"_ Said another.

"_Take that!"_ Said one as they flung us with various fruits.

"_Just a little snack, guys!"_ Aladdin tried to plead them. This time they hurled various weapons at us. I had to steer clear off the platform edge to avoid being turned into an Amar/Amira shish-kebab.

"_Rip them open, take it back guys!"_ The Guards sang as they rocked the platform's legs to and fro.

"_We can take a hint, gotta face the facts!"_ I sang; Aladdin jumped off the platform. I followed him and landed atop the Guard's heads. I reached for my brother's hand and both Al and Abu pulled me in to a harem.

"_You're our only friend, Abu!"_

"_Aladdin and his brother's hit the bottom!"_ The Harem girls sang, their voices we high pitched and quite shrilly. _"They've become the two-man rise in crime!"_

I winked at a girl dressed in blue, while Aladdin caught the attention of another girl wearing pink. He then came face-to-face with who seemed to be their landlady.

The girl in blue grabbed my fez playfully. I seized it back from her with my infamous smoulder.

"_I'd blame parents, except he hasn't got 'em!"_ The landlady chimed in. I sent a glare at her.

"_Gotta eat to live, gotta steal to eat,"_ Aladdin shrugged, grabbing my arm.

"_Tell you all about it when I got the time!"_ I blew a kiss to blue girl before jumping out of the window.

Aladdin was pushed of by the pink-clad harem girl. We landed on yet another shutter. We spotted the Guards, but we couldn't risk running in case we got cornered, so Al and I split up. He went to hide behind Mr Muscle and I grabbed a nearby piece of cloth and sprawled it on my head, disguising myself while revealing my true self, blending into the crowd. Like, you know, I was disguised as Amar, and in order to hide from the guards I have to go turn into Amira... disguising my disguise… get it? No?

Anyway, we were to regroup back in an alley. I waited for a few minutes, and then I heard someone yelling. It was Aladdin, using a carpet to delay his landing. Then he and Abu did some sort of unusual hand-shake/applause with their hands.

"And now, esteemed effendis, we feast, alright! " He said happily, breaking the bread into three pieces. Abu immediately grabbed his share. I bit into mine and savoured the flavour of the bread. Aladdin was about to bite into his piece, but something bothered him. His eyes turned sad. Abu uttered a small "Uh-oh," then bit into his bread angrily. I looked behind me and saw three wide-eyed kids; a girl and boys who appeared to be twins, rummaging the dumpster for food. They looked at us, or rather, at our food.

Something tugged at my heart. I remember when we were younger, scavenging for food… then we tried stealing to be able to eat some proper food, then trying not to get caught by merchants… I can't help but see ourselves reflected to those kids. Life will be tough, and most people won't be as kind to them. But… at least they have each other, and Al and I have each other… so I guess having family lessen the pain.

My brother stood up and gave his share of the bread to the tallest girl, but she tried pulling her brothers away, they were afraid we might hurt them or something.

"Here, go on, take it." Al told them gently. The girl reluctantly took the bread, and then giggled with delight. I walked up to the twins and handed them my piece. They muttered a quick 'thank you' and dug in. Our little monkey friend might have felt guilty, because Abu gave his share too. They petted him on the head as thanks.

Everything was at peace with the world, but then, the sound of banging drums filled the air. Aladdin walked out of the alley to check it out. Abu jumped onto my shoulder and we followed suit.

When I heard a horse's gallop, my heart raced. I remembered Slenderman. But the current rider wasn't him. And besides, the horse was white as the clouds and grey-colored mane... The man riding the horse gave off an air of… pompousness.

"On his way to the palace, I suppose." An old bystander muttered.

"Another suitor for the princess." Another bystander agreed with a bored kind of tone in his voice.

Come to think of it, we, the citizens of Agrabah never really saw the princess. All we know is that she's just a girl. Duh. Suddenly, the twins from the alley ran out, probably to go 'pet the pretty pony'. But the boys startled the horse, they were almost trampled to dust, good thing their sister pulled them behind her.

"Out of my way, you filthy brats!" the Ugly prince said, lashing out his whip. It was a good thing Aladdin and I rushed towards the kids. Al took the hit, causing the whip to get tied around his arm.

"Hey," Al snapped back. "If I was as rich as you, I could afford some manners!" he threw the whip back at the Prince.

"And good grooming too. You got a teeny-tiny bit of ugly ALL OVER YOUR FACE!" I said. Some of the onlookers laughed.

Prince Ugly glared at us. "Oh… I'll teach you some manners!" Ugly kicked Al into a puddle of mud. That got my blood boiling. No one and I mean no one insults my brother. I helped Al onto his feet. He was about to rush to attack the Prince, but I stopped him.

"Well, people of Agrabah, would you look at that?" I called out. He glared back at me. "If you would insult the prince-, "I spat out that word. He doesn't deserve it- "saying that He looks like his horses' rear end, the horse would be insulted!" The bystanders roared with laughter. Even the Prince's horsed neighed. Prince ugly sneered at me.

"You are a worthless street rat." Ugly said smugly. I just wanna punch his face off, there and then. "You were born street rats; you'll die street rats! And only your fleas will mourn you." He sneered at us.

I picked up a pebble and hurled it to his head. And it was a hit, ladies and gentlemen! He glared back at me, getting his whip, but the doors to the castle slammed shut. I sighed with relief. The occational guards that chased us were enough for the day, thank you very much. The people of Agrabah went back to their businesses.

"I'm not worthless," Aladdin muttered. "And I don't have fleas." –He scratched the back of his head. - "Come on, guys. Let's go home." His voice sounded sad and dejected. Maybe the insults were getting through him.

"You don't have fleas, Al. Neither do I." I was to make him laugh. "Fleas eat the nutrition from their hosts. We don't have nutrition, remember?" He grinned half-heartedly as he gave me a light slap at the back of my head.

I tried a few more jokes while walking. Nothing seemed to cheer Aladdin up. He just gave me smiles… no cheerily laugh. No telling that my jokes suck. It's either he's too affected with what Prince Ugly said, or that my jokes are really lame.

It was already dark when we reached our humble abode. It was quite a long way home, besides, we went through several stop overs; like an empty house where we took a bath and washed our clothes (we borrowed some of the house owner's own clothes. It's a man's house. No daughters, no female companions in the house. I have to dress like a man even at home. Oh well. We'll return those clothes after a week though), and the fruit stand where we can steel an apple so easy, we can do it with our eyes closed. And we did.

"_Riffraff, street rat…_

_I don't buy that._

_If only they'd look closer_

_Would they see a poor boy? No siree._

_They'd find out, there's so much more to me." _Aladdin sang sadly as he tucked Abu in for the night. Wow. This is the first time he's really affected with the name-callings. Or maybe I'm just not paying attention. Now I feel sad too.

He sat down on our "balcony" with a sigh, and then looked up at the sky. Our balcony overlooks the entire Agraban marketplace. And it also has a wicked view of the Sultan's Palace, and right now it gives off a glowing effect due to the dome-shaped roofs reflecting the moon's light… or something. To live in a palace… that would be the life.

"Someday, Abu, Mira, things are gonna change. We'll be rich, live in a palace, and never have any problems at all." He said with vindication. I looked up at the sky, spotting a really, really bright star. I remembered what our Mother told us; that when people die, they became the stars, looking and watching over to those whom they've left.

I looked at the star, closed my eyes and made a wish._ 'I just wish we won't have to steel again.'_

Little did I know, my wish will come true.

More or less.

**/**

To be continued.


	3. We 'Adopted' A Crazy Sister

Heya! Thanks to all those who visited, put this story on alert, and reviewed.

My muse loves the attention.

Wait, warning though, this chapter contains a teeny-tiny bit about drinking.

So, without further ado (save for the disclaimer), here's chapter 3!

**Disclaimer:** This fanfic is based on Disney's Aladdin.

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><p><strong>Chapter 3:<strong> We Adopted A Crazy Sister

Al and I spent the night on the palace.

Yes, my friends, you heard me right. We, the lowly thieves of Agrabah spent the night on the Sultan's palace.

The catch, though, was that were in the dungeon; which was to be expected. I mean, The Palace guards were onto us for several months now; they would have caught us sooner or later. But the annoying part is (yes, there is a much, much more aggravating part than being caught by the guards and sent to prison to be executed the next day!) is that we were accused of abducting the princess!

Pity, isn't it? And to think that we started the day quite normally.

Well, normal for my brother and me, that is.

**[Earlier that day]**

Al and I woke up kinda late. He's still downcast with what the Prince said, about us being nothing more but filthy street rats. He almost got caught by the shopkeeper when we went out to get some snacks that I realized being called a 'street rat' one too many times got to him. Bad. So I went out again and borrowed a jar of wine, took it home, and Al, Abu, and I drank to our heart's content. There, Al vented out, drowned his sorrows, and drank some more.

The result is all three of us sleeping in (not to mention the terrible, terrible headache). The upside, however, is that Aladdin is back to his old, care-free self. We then set out to go pilfer our breakfast.

Hasaan, the fruit vendor, has some new crops today. They are called 'melons'. I've tasted one before. It was red, and sweet and juicy and watery. Perfect if you're living in the desert. But melons don't grow here. So cactuses are the next best thing.

Anyway, we crept up atop the fruit stand's awning. I was dressed up as Amar, of course. The plan was that Abu will distract the vendor. And while our good man's attention is diverted to our furry friend, Al will dip down and grab a fruit. Easy, we could do this in our sleep.

"Try this, your taste buds will dance and sing!" Hasaan below was busy commercializing his, "Fresh fruits from a foreign land!"

"Okay, Abu. Go!" Al said, motioning for Abu to distract the merchant. Abu saluted and hang by his tail, off to annoy the vendor.

"Hey, get your paws off that!" The merchant said angrily. I can hear Abu's chattering and was trying not to laugh. "Why, you! Get away from here, you filthy ape!"

Aladdin dipped down, grabbed a rather large melon, and tossed it to me. Abu zinged back up to us.

"Nice goin' Abu!" Aladdin said as they did that weird handshake-applause combination thing again while I broke the melon in three.

"Breakfast is served, boys!" I said happily, handing them their shared before sinking my teeth into my melon. The flesh is green in colour this time but it still has that sweet, refreshing flavour. We went on to watch the people in the marketplace, selling a variety of furniture, food, weapons, jewels and whatnot. My favourite though, is the man that eats flames. I mean, how awesome is that? He usually goes and does his fire-eating at noon. He rehearses during the morning, and right now he's just a few stalls away from us.

A woman in robes bumped into the fire-eater, startling him into swallowing his fire unexpectedly. The lady seemed to be saying her apologies to Mr Fire-eater, who then gulped and belched fire from his mouth. The lady jumped in surprise, this is probably her first time to see someone who does that.

"Wow…" Aladdin breathed in awe.

"I know, right? And here I thought his internal organs will explode." I muttered in agreement.

"Not him, _her_." My brother said quite dreamily. My attention was then diverted to the lady. She's beautiful, I'll give her that. Then, the unexpected happened. My brother sighed, gazing at the girl. I felt my eye twitched, while Abu jumped onto Al's head, waving his tiny little paws in front of my brother's face.

Okay… so my brother's… clearly infatuated with the girl. I'll let him have that moment.

"Helloo..? Hello?" Abu lightly screeched.

"Let him have his moment, Abu." I told the monkey, picking him up and placing him on my head instead. Abu grumbled some incoherent things.

Then, the lady stopped at the fruit stand next to ours; she might have taken pity on a kid looking longingly at the apples (the same kind of look al was giving out to her. Creepy.)

"Aww, you must be hungry." The Lady cooed. She then grabbed an apple and handed it to the kid. Good she's got dough. That's nice, some lady treating a little orphan to some apple—whoa! She started walking away!

The merchant (who, in fact was menacing) stepped out of his stall, and growled, "You'd better be able to pay for that."

"Pay?" The girl turned, surprised. As if she's only heard the word 'pay' for the first time.

"No one steals from my cart!" The merchant grabbed her arm. Meanwhile, I felt my brother tensing up. People were starting to notice the bubbling commotion.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. I don't have any money." She tried to reason. Man, I feel like smacking my hand onto my face right at that moment. How naïve can you get? Even our first time stealing went better than that! We weren't even caught!

"Thief!" The Merchant bellowed. Aladdin sat up, ready to spring into action.

"P-please, i-if y-you let me go to the palace, I can g-get some from the Sultan-!" The poor, pretty little lady was stuttering. Man, if I wasn't irritated right now, I would have taken pity to her.

"Do you know what the penalty is for stealing?" The merchant grabbed hold of her arm and held it down on the table, taking his sword out. I felt all the blood rushing out of my face. Damn conscience!

"N-no, n-no p-please!" The lady was struggling, looking out on people, silently pleading anyone to help her. But here on the marketplace, not many people will risk their necks out for you. _Only_ stupid people will risk their lives for you.

"C'mon!" Al grabbed my hand and we raced down to stop the be-handing.

Well, that puts Al and me onto the 'few stupid people' category. Al swiftly caught the merchant's hand, and said, Thank you kind sir. We're so glad you've found her." Al grabbed the sword and handed it out to me. I have to improvise… And fast!

Then, an idea hit me, square in the head. "We've been looking all over for you." I told the girl.

"What are you doing?" She whispered to me.

"Just play along, princess." I snapped quietly, dragging her away from the apple stand. Was it just me, or did her eyes widen at the sound of 'Princess'?

"You know this girl?" Mr Menacing merchant asked.

"Sadly, yes. She is our sister." Aladdin said., then he leaned in to Mr Merchant and not-so-silently whispered, "She's a little crazy." He circled his finger around his ear for emphasis. The little lady scoffed. But I kept on dragging her off.

But the burly merchant grabbed MY brother by the front of his vest, and uttered, "She said she knows the Sultan!"

"She thinks the monkey is the Sultan." I deadpanned, stifling a laugh. Little lady turned quite irritated at me, but I gave her a 'go-worship-the-monkey-if-you-want-all-of us-to-live' look. She blinked a couple of times, before catching my drift. Abu straightened up.

The lady finally bowed at Abu, saying , "Oh, wise Sultan. How may I serve you?"

And the haughty little monkey chattered some more incoherent things, and then patted her cloaked head.

"Tragic, isn't it?" Aladdin said in feigned sadness. But I can see how He leans forward, picking up another apple from the cart with his foot. He handed it to the Merchant who now has his mouth hanging open. "But, no harm done." He motioned me to go while he helped up our 'crazy sister' back on her feet.

"Now come along Sis. Time to see the doctor." Al said with a small grin while I shook hands with the merchant for the last time.

"Oh, hello doctor. How are you?" Our 'crazy sister' said to a random camel. I turned to check on the Merchant, and he was back to his stall, muttering about crazy people.

"No, no, no. Not that one." Aladdin said. 'patiently'. "Come on, Sultan." He called Sultan Abu.

Abu bowed and said parting words to his… 'People', but then, everything he nicked from the people spilled out of his vest. He then chattered in a panicky way. The people started laughing, getting the attention of Mr Apple Vendor back to us. He noticed the apples on the ground.

"Huh? What the-," He noticed Abu pick up the apples he can carry, I didn't turn around. I ran laughing.

"Come back here, you little thieves!" He bellowed.

I ran faster and laughed some more.

We took the lady back to our house.

Man, this is the first time I saw Al taken by some lady. I climbed up the roof first, with Abu on atop of my head. Al came next, supporting the frail little lady.

"Almost there," he said to her. She climbs over the top, but trips and falls into Aladdin's arms. They stayed like that, cuddling for a few seconds. I rolled my eyes and cleared my throat. They looked at me and broke off.

I was sure that the girl's face flushed violent shade of red. I just didn't see it, no thanks to the darkness. "I want to thank you… both of you, for stopping that man." She said.

"Don't mention it." I smiled at her. I vaulted a head of them. The romantic air was suffocating me.

"Uh, forget it." He walked away from her, probably to hide his blushing face. He grabbed a pole, and said, "So this is your first time in the marketplace, huh?" And then he vaulted over to another roof top, leaving us behind. Show off.

"Is it that obvious?" The girl said, amused.

"Well, you do kinda stand out." My right eye twitched when I saw him looking… romantically at her. She stared back at him at the same manner. I grinned. She seemed to like him back.

"I mean," Al faked a cough. "You don't seem to know how dangerous Agrabah can be." He placed a plank between the buildings for her to walk over, but as he is leaned down to steady the plank, she surprised us both when she vaults over our heads. Well, whaddaya know. The frail little lady isn't so frail after all!

She tosses the pole to Al. Honestly speaking, I felt my jaw dropping. I'm starting to like her for my brother.

"I'm a fast learner." She shrugged. Aladdin was starting to gaze dreamily at her again, but then I nudged him back to reality. He nodded.

"Right. C'mon, this way." He led her through the entrance of our home, telling her to occasionally dodge a random wooden plank or something.

"Is this where you live?" The girl was in awe. If Al had taken home some other girls, they might have scoffed, and turned away with disgust. But she seemed okay with our living condition.

"Yep. Just me, my brother, and Abu." Aladdin said. "We come and go as we please."

"That sounds fabulous." The girl said. Yep. She definitely gets my vote.

Al's eyes lit up. "Well, it's not much," He pulled back the curtain and revealed the view of the palace. "…but it's got a great view. Palace looks pretty amazing, huh?"

"Oh, it's wonderful." She sighed, turning around so as not to face the palace.

"I wonder what it would be like to live there, to have servants and valets..." Al said absentmindedly.

"Oh, sure; people who tell you where to go and how to dress." The girl's voice turned bitter, as if she was speaking from experience.

"Well, it's better than here. Always scraping for food and ducking the guards." I commented, leaning on the wall, snatching two apples from Abu. "Remember what happened earlier?" I tossed one to Aladdin, who caught it without even looking at me. His eyes were fixed at her.

"You're not free to make your own choices." The girl said.

"Sometimes you feel so…" Aladdin began.

" You're just…" The girl piped up.

"…trapped." They said in unison, completely forgetting my existence.

"And then they forgot about me, well, that's it. I'm outta here." I muttered. I turned to the girl with a smile. "Well, miss, there's a spare… couple of sheets for you to sleep on in. I'll be back late, okay?" And with that, I jumped off the roof.

I heard the girl gave a worried gasp, but I'm sure reassured her that I'll be fine. I had to leave. The romance in the air is suffocating me again. I'll take a walk for a while.

This is weird… it's like; I can feel my brother leaving me slowly. Call me selfish but I don't want that. I mean, I'm happy for him, for them, he's finally found a beautiful girl and all. But what if Al wanted to finally marry her? Settle down and stuff?

I was brought out of my musings when someone pinned my arms behind my back. "Gotcha, street rat!"

Damn. I was thinking too hard I didn't even feel them creep up on me. I turned my head to look at my captor. It was Razoul and his buddies with smug grins on their faces. I tried to play it cool, joke around…

"H-hey Razoul, ol'buddy! How are ya?"

"No use joking around, boy," He growled ominously. "Where's the Princess?"

"P-princess? What princess? Is it a piece of jewellery? You know my brother and I only steal food!"

His eyes widen, as if he got some sort of brilliant idea. "Your brother! Where is he?"

"I-I don't know. Out?" I struggled. I do not like this. Not at all. "What's the deal with the princess?"

"Don't play dumb with me, boy!" He bellowed. "What did you do to her?"

"Dumb? I'm not playing dumb; I just am!" I retorted. "And we didn't abduct your princess! We can't eat her, well, we can, but we won't, because we're not cannibals—humf!" they muffled me by gagging me. Then, Razoul handed me to another of his cronies, a younger palace guard.

"You! Keep an eye on this one," he ordered. "And whatever you don't take the gag off, you hear?" The newbie nodded. He, the newbie, tightened my restraints and followed the other palace guards. They were marching towards the direction of our home.

The only thing I can think of right at that moment is my brother.

To Be Continued.


	4. The Tramp Is A Lady!

**A/N:** Heya! Thanks to **Disneyfanficwriter**, **Blackmoondragon1415** and **Grapejuice101** for adding this humble fic to their favorites and story alerts!

Here's chapter 4!

**Disclaimer:** This is a fanfiction based off on Disney's Aladdin.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong> The Tamp is a Lady…or We Disturbed a Sleeping Lion

So there I was, bound and gagged and held as a prisoner. This might sound crazy, but I would have rather been arrested for thievery than abduction. That was crazy! We didn't even know what the princess looked like!

Anyway, Razoul divided his troops; some were to go around the parameter to corner Aladdin just in case, some were ordered to guard another alley, and Razoul sent his most trusted cronies to go raid our home.

Oh I hope that at least Al will get away. But I know he won't, unless he … did he know of this sudden raid? Don't think he does yet. Even I was not aware of this. We, Aladdin and I, have never taken anyone to our base of operations. Ever. We were careful never to lead the guards that chase us anywhere near our home, that's why we live in the outskirts of the marketplace, atop of a long, uninhabited building.

No one, save for three three of us, knows of our location.

Except for the girl. Then the realization hit me like a punch in the face.

What if she was bait and we fell for it? What if all the _'naïve, never been to the market place'_ was all an act? I felt my blood boiling. I do not like being deceived! And to think that my brother is enamoured with… with that wench! And that I approve of her for Aladdin! To think that he finally found his soul mate?

What if?

Abed (the newbie guard) was among those who were guarding the exit alley closest to our home. I thought about escaping, but I was outnumbered, there were ten of them, and I didn't have my dagger with me. And I can't have them figure out about _Amira_… so I didn't fight.

I glared at Razoul. Was he so low, that they thought the only way to have us captured to lure us using a girl? I was about to give him a piece of my mind about baiting us. At first, the burly guard ignored me, but after a few seconds, he turned to me and scowled. "What is it, rat?"

"You tricked us, you dung-faced brute!" I said, or at least _tried_ to say, because I doubt that he understood me because of my muffle. Noticing my discomfort, Razoul and his crew laughed at me more.

"I can't hear you, speak louder!" He said. I took a deep breath to control my anger. I can't have them behead me right this instant. As a general rule, I try not to get beheaded before supper. But I kept my glaring at him.

Then I heard a commotion. The sudden noise seemed to have roused all the rest of the guards. I lifted my head up to see what's happening. There was a yelp, and a faint sound of fabric being torn followed by a loud **'thud'** .Was it Aladdin? Was he alive? I was not sure at that time; all I saw was a blur of violet, blue and brown.

"Gotcha!" Razoul exclaimed, coming forward to meet Aladdin. He blocked my view as he came forward to meet someone who I presumed to be my brother. "We just keep running into each other, don't we, street rat?" Yep. That's Al alright.

Then, something brown and furry landed on his head. It was Abu, and he pulled down Razoul's turban, causing a small distraction. Aladdin made a break for it, but there are more guards blocking the exit.

"Al!" I yelled… (If you can yell with a muffle) at my brother. His eyes widen upon the sight of me, but the girl tugged at his hand, urging him to hesitantly run to the other direction.

But the distraction did not last long. Razoul quickly recovered (dung face threw Abu into a jar) and was able to catch Al by holding him by the back of his vest. "It's the dungeon for you, boy!" He said as he flung Aladdin towards his other men.

Well, you know what they say; "The family that steals together… will go to the dungeons together."

My bother continued squirming. "Get off of me!" he demanded.

What happened next was surprising, to say the least. Hey, the first time you take someone to your house, you get arrested; of course you tend to accuse that person as a spy. It was an honest mistake! Turns out, the girl wasn't a spy after all. She then started to hit Razoul. It was kinda funny; she's so much smaller than him.

"Let go of him!" She the girl said. Obviously, those hits weren't working on Razoul. Instead, he laughed.

"Lookie here men, a street mouse!" He grabbed the girl by the arm and pushed her off to the ground.

The girl glared up at him then said, more strongly this time, "Unhand him," she took her hood off her head, "...By order of the princess."

Ha. That put a stick in dung-face's arse. They were dumbfounded. We were all dumbfounded. It's not every day you get a Princess in disguise vouching for you.

"Princess Jasmine." Razoul said, bowing down at the girl… the princess…

"The princess?" Aladdin muttered.

"What are you doing outside the palace? And with these street rats?" Razoul asked. Surprising how "gentle" his voice sounds. "They could have taken advantage of you-,"

"Well, they did no such thing. Do as I command. Release them!"

"Well, I would, princess, but my orders come from Jafar. You'll have to take it up with him." Razoul said sincerely sad as he ordered his men to drag us to prison.

**xx**

So in the end, whoever this Jafar person was, he's the one who wanted us locked up. The Princess, Jasmine, can't do anything about it. Aladdin let his head hung sadly as the guards dragged us to the palace dungeons.

Jafar... that name sounds familiar... as if I've met him...

Well, look at my brother and I now.

Al and I are here, chained to a wall. We can neither stand up nor lie down. It's irritating. It hurts my back. The dungeon was dark and cold. And there were rats on the ceiling. I hate rats. Aladdin was brooding beside me. And the cherry on top of this oh-so delightful situation? We were sentenced to be beheaded first thing tomorrow.

"She was the princess. I don't believe it. I must have sounded so stupid to her." Aladdin muttered.

"I know, right? Don't beat yourself up, though. You made the princess pretend she's crazy!" I joked. "That's an achievement, if you ask me."

"Now's not the time for jokes, 'Mira." Al chided sadly. "Aren't you scared?"

I shrugged. "I try not to think about the negative stuff, Al. if I think about it, I'll go crazy. Besides, if I die tomorrow, at least you die with me, right?"

"Thank you, you brighten up my day." He said sarcastically.

"I do try to live up to my moments." I replied. Al shook his head and we laughed. It was weird. We were to be executed in a few hours and yet, here we are, laughing like a pair of crazy hyenas. Then, we heard what seemed to be an echo of some kind of animal growling. We paused, our eyes trying to locate the source of the noise. Who knows if they have some kind of snake in here? Or a tiger?

Aladdin looked up and grinned. It was Abu, sitting at the window at the top of the dungeon.

"Yoo-hoo! Aladdin? Amira! Hello!" Abu chattered. I don't remember the last time I was so overjoyed upon the sight of our monkey friend.

"Abu! Down here!" Aladdin said happily. Abu climbed down the dungeon walls.

When he reached the floor, Abu rubbed his head onto my face. "Nice to see you too, Abu." I greeted. And then he jumped onto Aladdin's head.

"Hey, c'mon-help us outta these." Aladdin said. Abu looked at him, jumped to the floor and began chattering wildly, lecturing Aladdin about 'bringing strangers to our house' and all. Abu then wrapped his tiny vest onto his head to make it look like a hood, and then made motions to imitate the Princess.

"Yeah, you tell him, Abu." I agreed, trying not to laugh too loud.

"Hey, she was in trouble." Al reasoned. Abu glared at him. "Ah, she was worth it." Abu and I rolled his eyes at Al.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Our monkey buddy chattered. He moved up on Al's shoulders and pulls a small set of tools out of his vest pocket, freeing Al. Abu then jumped onto my head, working on my chains.

"Don't worry guys. I'll never see her again. I'm a street rat, remember, and there's a law. She's gotta marry a prince, she deserves it." Aladdin said whilst rubbing his wrist.

"Ta da!" Abu chattered when he freed me.

"Thanks Abu!" I said, rubbing his head. "Stop brooding, Al. it does not suit you."

"I'm a-I'm a fool." Aladdin sighed dejectedly. I was about to say 'Yes you are', but then, another voice dropped his two cents and said,

"You're only a fool if you give up, boy." To say the voice sounds creepy is an understatement. Has He been here all the time, eavesdropping on us?

"Who are you?" I said instead, deepening my voice, trying to sound like a boy.

"There's no need to disguise yourself anymore, girl." He countered.

I furrowed by brows. "Answer the question!" I insisted.

"A lowly prisoner, like yourselves." He answered, stepping out of the shadows. "But together, perhaps we can be more!" the old man was bald, hunchback and dressed in rags. He's also got this mad look in his eyes. It's like looking onto our futures… if we can live that long.

"We're listening." Al said, narrowing his eyes.

"There is a cave, children. A cave of wonders-,"

"The cave of wonders is nothing but a legend. How long have you been locked up here?" I said. There's a feeling in my gut that tells me something's off; First, my nightmare about the cave of wonders and then this? Something is not right.

"Oh, how can you be so sure that it is merely a legend, girl?" He said, getting in my face. Literally. Suddenly, the crazy, seemingly harmless old coot isn't too harmless anymore.

"What about this cave?" Aladdin asked. The old man laughed.

"Oh, the cave of wonders! It is Filled with treasures beyond your wildest dreams-," He took out a couple of rubies from his pouch, tempting us to grab it from him. Abu was about to jump onto his hand, but then the old man pulled his hand back and leapt away from us. "…Treasure enough to impress even your princess, I'd wager."

I turned to look at Aladdin, who seemed to have been working out on strategies in his head.

"But the law says that only a prince can marry…" Aladdin began, but the old man cut him off.

"You've heard of the golden rule, haven't you boy?" He, the old guy, was inches away from Al's face, then he moved in to me, "Whoever has the gold makes the rules?" He grinned at me, showing a hideously bad mouth, and equally bad breath.

"So why would you share all of this wonderful treasure with me? With us?" Aladdin said, standing up. He offered me his hand and I took it.

"Yeah, the last time we helped someone, well, look at where we are!" I agreed.

"I need a pair of strong legs and a strong back to go in after it." The old man said, patting Al's legs with his cane.

"Okay, so let's say that the cave is true." I said. "It's out there in the desert. We're locked in."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm… Things aren't always what they seem. The old man leaped towards the wall and pushed open a hidden exit. I gotta say, for an old guy, this one's pretty agile. "So, do we have a deal?" he stretched out his hand. I turned to Aladdin. Who in turn looked back at me.

He raised his eyebrows if is asking for my opinion. I merely shrugged. So far, this is the best offer we got in regards to breaking free. Al then turned to Abu who merely shrugged.

He looked to the old man and nodded. He, the old man laughed and jumped for joy, and then beckoned us to follow him out of the dungeons.

One question lingers on my mind, though. If he already has a way out, why would he still come back to the dungeons?

Friendly advisory: If you're planning to go to a sudden getaway to the desert, always, always bring an eye protector, for you'll never know when a sandstorm would hit.

We 'borrowed' a horse from someone, and all we had to do was pretend that we were going to take our sick grandfather to a healer on the next town. The traveller pitied us and gave his horse. I almost felt bad about it. We went further out on the desert, and I had a feeling that I've been here before, funny, because I know I haven't been too far out in the desert. We stopped in front of a rather large mound of sand, and then the old man took out a two pieces of what appears to be a golden scarab, joined the pieces together and raised it out to the heavens. It emitted a bright, golden light. The golden scarab separated in two and plummeted themselves onto the dune.

The ground shook and the sand storm got even stronger and I know that I've seen this scenario before. From the great sand dude rose up a gargantuan lion's head.

"By Allah…" Aladdin breathed. I was equally stunned as well.

For once, I was speechless.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" The lion growled.

It took Al a few seconds to register what the lion had said. "It is I, Aladdin." My brother said meekly.

"And the girl?" The lion questioned.

"A-and I, A-amira." I was trying to go for the humble approach, but my voice probably came off as a mere pathetic squeak.

The lion narrowed his eyes at us, as if we are being scrutinized. When he deemed us acceptable, he said, "Proceed. Touch nothing but the lamp." He opened his mouth with an almost deafening roar and a staircase came in place where his tongue should be.

"Shall we?" Al turned to me with a cocky grin.

"We shall, brother dear." I replied.

"Remember, children-first fetch me the lamp, and then you shall have your reward!" The old man, we almost forgot about him, reminded us.

"C'mon, Abu." Aladdin said to our monkey friend, cowering behind him.

We descended down the stairs, unaware that our lives will change soon enough.

**xx**

**T**o **B**e **C**ontinued

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